So, how can a physician inform a typical overweight American patient in a way that society and media haven't already done? Given that an overweight person already almost certainly suffers from stigma, it is likely that they feel powerless to change anything about their weight, and would wish to change it even without being aware of health risks. From a doctor's point of view in wanting actively to help patients, what is a good way to make people aware of the problem without worsening the effect of stigmas on them? I would be really curious to hear your opinion, or what you have learned in medical school on the issues of communicating effective action to a patient.

The reason I am responding this way: I imagine one needs a really strong focus on positive messaging, telling the patient a concrete course of diet and exercise combined with advice as to how to happily maintain or gradually acquire such a routine (since I hear people often start out by adopting regimes they can't maintain, and give up). If I read you correctly it seems that you assume the patient should work all this out for him/herself based on concrete facts presented by a doctor with no regard to his/her feelings. Am I misrepresenting you?